"How do we get out of here? I'm not at all interested in sitting around doing nothing, and there are those of us that have family to save."
“I have to agree with Vincent somewhat, As much as I want to help you and believe me I do, I worry for my family, and unfortunately in this case family comes first." Liam said, all the while averting the gaze of her majesty. “However I think its very clear that all our families live on very different sides of the city. So unless you have a portal that can get us to our houses very quickly we are going to be spending a lot of time away and worst of all, not in a group. But whatever you guys decide, I’m with you one hundred percent.”
“Absolutely not.” Berry snapped at him a little too harshly. “Well.” She continued with a controlled breath. “Need I say more. Safety in numbers and all that. Best not spread ourselves too thin at the moment. I’m sorry, I…I know you want to help your family and friends. But…”
"You're right, it is kind of a lot to ask. But I don't blame you; we're all in kind of a pickle right now, heehee. And besides, you don't have to worry about us. We've managed to survive this long using only runes, our wits, and candy. And Roy." She waved at the robot again, the turned back to the Queen. "And just think! If we survived so long with so little, just imagine what we can accomplish with real, actual weapons now! Not to mention Milady's support! Yep! With all the awesome stuff we've got, and the bond we have together as friends, there's no way we can possibly fail! I promise you, Milady, we'll do as much as we can to beat back the Grit and save Periphery!"
“I won’t lie; I am scared for my brothers and sister. I’d do anything to know they are safe. But if I just go straight to them now, can I protect them? Whilst the Grit ravage the city, seems to me that having stone skin is better than relying on my terrible marksmanship. So I will go to the mine if that is where you would have us start to fix this. But can I ask one thing- can you send one of your robots to find my family? I just want to know they are safe.” Kat looked over to Liam. “Maybe she can do that for you, too."
“There’s just one other thing…” Her mind was still whirring- she was doing the math. “’Soul stones’, those are those little pink things, right? Everyone who got hit with lightning had one floating in front of them. So what happens when a grit absorbs them- can you get them back? Can you make new ones?”
The Queen listened to them all quietly, looking none of them in the eye, her face downturned. Every word was the voice of a heart so terribly affected by these events, so frightened yet willing to act. For some, their silence spoke loudest of all. She raised her eyes to Moth's face, and they lingered there before she drew in a breath and raised her head to Kat.
"The soul stones emerge from people when they are turned to stone," she confirmed. "If your families have been affected by the electric storm, and the Grit have got to them first, you'll have to collect stones to revive them. This shouldn't necessarily mean taking souls from other people." Though grabbing stones from statues was by far the easiest method of procuring the means of reviving loved ones, it was also the least morally sound. "Our robot friends have discovered that the stones can be removed from the Grit."
She gestured to Roy, who blinked for a moment before projecting a hologram in the air in front of Maria. It showed a scene of an attacking Grit from Roy's point of view. The Grit was shaped like a human -- with a human face -- but had feathers and claws like a bird of prey. The Grit attacked, but was in midair when a laser sliced through it. The Grit's body dropped to the ground -- but instead of dissipating into the air like all the dead Grit had done at the battle in the Wall, this one bled out on the floor, eyes clouded and staring open. In the footage from Roy's perspective, the robot neatly sliced open the Grit's stomach, rummaged inside the oozing blood, and drew out a glowing soulstone. The Queen waved quickly, disturbed by the image, and the hologram shut off.
"It seems soulstones cannot be destroyed -- we just have to ensure every citizen who lost one has one returned to them. Then, it is a matter of ensuring they remain safe. Enchanted robots throughout the city have orders to kill all Grit -- and if they bleed, to open their stomachs. They will bring the soul stones and the survivors here."
She looked to each of them in turn, her expression a picture of bravery in face of terror. The Queen stepped away from them to face the rock wall; from her pocket she pulled a small metallic pen, and with a flick of a switch a laser began to burn a mark into the stone. With a steady and practiced hand, she drew a wide sigil that appeared very similar to the layout of the streets of Periphery, with minor activation designs spaced throughout it. When the sigil was finished, she dropped the pen back into her pocket and took a step back.
"One of you, touch this at the place where your home is, and the portal will open at that spot. You will all go together, with the robot guards to protect you." The robots that surrounded them stood at attention. "Revive them, or collect their soul stones for safekeeping, and the robots will guide you back to a sigil that will bring you back here."
Her mouth set into a firm line. "Touch one of the four gates on this sigil, and it will teleport you outside the Wall. While the Grit run the city, I cannot guarantee the safety of those survivors you rescue -- but I will be here to receive them, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they return home at last."
With that, the Queen was quiet. It was up to them how to proceed -- rather, it was up to the first person who touched the sigil to determine where they would go, and how they would begin to reverse what horrors had been done.
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